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History of 21st Overall Picks SHL

S40

Asti-Tabarnak Fleur-De-Lys-LaPoutine III – Manhattan Rage - Forward

First of all, what a name on this guy. He fits in Fleur de Lys, a swear word, and the best dish ever created on earth all in one name. PLUS, he’s the third of his name. Brilliant. Unfortunately Mr. LaPoutine never even made the SHL as the 21st overall pick. In the S39 SMJHL Entry Draft he was drafted by the Halifax Raiders 25th overall. In his rookie season he averaged nearly eighteen minutes per game for the Raiders and scored 14 goals, giving him the lead in scoring for rookies. In S40 he had his best year notching 16 goals and as many assists to finish with 32 points. This was good for 3rd in goal scoring on the Raiders that season. His final season for the Raiders in the SMJHL was S41. He finished with a total of 249 TPE, clearly not living up to any expectations set forth for this player.

S41

Doug Dimmadome – New England Wolfpack - Forward

Mr. Dimmadome never makes the SHL at 21st overall for the Wolfpack. He was signed as a free agent by the Anchorage Armada in S40 and was a mainstay for them on offense. In his rookie season he averaged 18:45 minutes in time on ice per game and racked up 17 points as a forward. His best season was S43 where he finished with 18 goals and 22 assists for the team lead 40 points. His final season was S44 in the SMJHL and he never played another game. He amassed 349 TPE until he went inactive and left the Wolfpack high and dry with their 2nd round pick of S41.

S42

Willis Vincent – Buffalo Stampede - Goalie

Willis Vincent first makes an appearance for West Kendall Platoon in S45 where he is the backup goaltender behind mainstay Beaujeaux Biscuit. He played in 6 games in his rookie season where he won 3 of those games. He tallied a 3.44 GAA and an 84.9% save percentage. His best season was his last in the SHL where he played 6 games and had a 2.97 GAA and an 88.2% save percentage. He was signed as a free agent by St. Louis in the SMJHL in S41 where he played 4 games for them that season. In S42 he played 22 games for them and a third of them were in relief. He had a solid year though finishing with a 3.22 GAA and an 88.9% save percentage. To this day he is still in the SHL on the West Kendall Platoon as their backup behind Biscuit. It appears he is inactive at this point though as he has not updated in over six months. His final TPE count was 271.

S43

Marco Raanteli – Los Angeles Panthers – Defense

Our first defenseman on the post, Marco Raanteli, has not yet played in an SHL game to this date. He was drafted by the Montreal Militia in the sixth round at 43rd overall in the S42 SMJHL Entry Draft. In his rookie season he averaged just over 11 minutes per game, playing a very minor role on the team along with his two fellow defensemen draftees Toivanen and Wormster. He tallies 13 assists in his rookie season though and 36 hits to boot. His best season came in S45 for the Militia where he put up 1 goal and 21 assists to be tied for 2nd on the team in points for defensemen. He averaged nearly nineteen and a half minutes per game that season and lead the team in hits for defensemen with 78. His current TPE count is 359 and he has not updated his player in over six months and appears inactive. A shame as the LA Panthers were hoping for a good young defenseman with this pick in S43.

S44

Benoit Minuscule – Calgary Dragons - Defense

Minuscule played his rookie year for the Dragons this past season in S47. His statistics are a bit laughable as he was 8th defenseman on the team, although he appeared in all 50 games. He played in a total of 5 minutes over the 50 games and amassed one blocked shot. He had no other statistics. The Vancouver Whalers signed him as a free agent in S43 towards the end of the year. They labeled him as a future all-star, he certainly did not live up to these expectations. In his rookie season he appeared in 15 total games due to the late in the season signing. Minuscule did have an all-star caliber season with the Lethbridge Lions in S45, amassing 9 goals and 22 assists that season. He averaged just over 19 minutes per game and lead the team for defensemen in hits. He has also gone inactive and has not updated in over 6 months. Seems like a trend with the 21st overall pick so far. His final TPE count was 274.

S45

Vegeta Muerto – Hamilton Steelhawks - Defense

Muerto first shows up in the SHL in S46 for his rookie season. He appeared in all 50 games for the Steelhawks that season, posting a goal and three assists and averaging a tick over 15 minutes per game. His rookie season was his best year in the SHL as he slid down Hamilton’s depth chart in S47 and averaged about a minute and a half per game on the season. Vegeta Muerto was drafted in the S44 SMJHL Entry Draft by the Anchorage Armada who took him with the 20th overall pick in that draft. He played very well in his rookie year in the SMJHL, totaling 25 points and playing 21 and a half minutes per game. Halfway through his second SMJHL season he was traded to the Anaheim Outlaws. This was his best season as he racked up 33 points, 22 of those in the 25 games he played for Anaheim. Muerto also lead Anaheim in average time on ice for the season. He finished with 291 TPE and has not updated in over 6 months. Teams should really take a hint and just pass on the 21st pick going forward.

S46

Kit Smeb – Chicago Syndicate - Forward

Smeb has brought the 21st pick in the SHL draft back to life. His rookie season in the SHL was this past season S47 and he played well for a rookie. Finishing with 13 goals, 13 assists, and sporting a second line role on the Syndicate, Smeb looks to continue his ascension to create the Smeb legacy. Kit Smeb was drafted by the Detroit Falcons 41st overall in the S45 SMJHL Entry Draft. His rookie season in the SMJHL he scored 14 goals and potted 12 assists averaging 14 and a half minutes per game for the Falcons. In his second and final season in the SMJHL Smeb put up 18 goals and 20 assists, good for 2nd on the team. He lead the team in shots by a large margin and finished with 166. To this day he is active and is sitting at a healthy 682 TPE to start the S48 season. Will this start a new trend for 21st overall selections or is Kit Smeb a diamond in the rough?

S47

Joseph Laraque – New England Wolfpack – Forward

Laraque has yet to make his debut in the SHL as of S47, but he has been called up for the start of S48 with the Wolfpack. He’s expected to slot in on the 3rd line there. Laraque was drafted 12th overall in the S46 SMJHL Entry Draft by the Halifax Raiders. He set the league on fire to start in his rookie season, nearly leading the league in points through the halfway mark. As all rookies do, he quieted down and finished with a respectable 29 points and got a rookie of the year nomination for his troubles. He lead the team in shooting percentage that year with 19.75%. His second season wasn’t the big step up the team was expecting as he only amassed 6 more points than his rookie year to finish with 35. His shooting percentage was a modest 10.67% in the second season as well. Laraque is currently sitting at 451 TPE going into S48 and is also active.

S48

Josef Novotny – West Kendall Platoon - Forward

Mr. Novotny is our most recent draftee at 21st overall and you can’t really say he has any shoes to fill at that spot. He of course has not appeared in the SHL as of yet and it’s quite unlikely he will appear in S48 for the West Kendall Platoon. Novotny was signed by the Kelowna Knights as a free agent in S47 about a third of the way through the season. He played in more of a 4th line role for the Knights averaging just under 10 minutes per game through the 39 games he played in. Unfortunately it was a tough season for him as he only put up 3 points in the regular season. The question going forward for this young player will be if he can follow in Kit Smeb and Joseph Laraque’s footsteps or will he falter like so many before him have? Only time will tell for Novotny, but things look good so far. He is sitting at 276 total TPE right now going into his second season in the SMJHL. All eyes will be on Josef to see if he can hit the SMJHL cap and continue his career into the SHL.

Final Ranking TPE

Smeb – 682 TPE – S46
Laraque – 451 TPE – S47
Raanteli – 349 TPE – S43
Dimmadome – 349 TPE – S41
Muerto – 291 TPE – S45
Novotny – 276 TPE – S48
Minuscule – 274 TPE – S44
Vincent – 271 TPE – S42
Fleur-De-Lys-LaPoutine III – 249 TPE – S40

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